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New Grassroots Political Party Announced

Founders and representatives of the Grassroot Democratic Party (GDP) stand up to show their faces after an election held on August 2, 2015 at a residence in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district. (Hul Reaksmey/VOA​ Khmer)

The founders of a popular social network have announced the formation of a new political party. The Grassroots Democratic Party aims to reduce corruption and increase social justice, the founders said in an announcement.

The party will differ from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in its grassroots, decentralized approach, Sam In, one of its leaders and a founder of the Khmer for Khmer social network, told VOA Khmer at the announcement Sunday.

Sam In and other party founders say such an approach will provide “real democracy” in a country that still favors centralized power and individuals and follows a political model that has done little since the 1991 Paris Peace Accords created the modern Cambodian state.

The Grassroots Democratic Party will provide an alternate political culture, Sam In said. “The first culture is to look down on everyone, to insult them, and to paint colors [of blame],” he said. “We want to create a new culture, meaning a political culture of hope, love and respect for one another, to clear out all the political dirtiness.”